


As luck would have it

by dragonesdepapel



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Miraculous Ladybug Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Crushes, F/F, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Mara and Light Hope are in love have a bakery and adopted Adora bc they deserved a happy ending ok, Mutual Pining, Secret Identity, Some Swearing, also secret identity shenanigans like c'mon it'll be great, but like it's complicated lol, listen i didn't set myself to write a ladybug au ok it just HAPPENED, you get a superheroe au with a high school au on the side what else can you ask for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25101124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonesdepapel/pseuds/dragonesdepapel
Summary: In the day time, Adora is just a normal girl with a normal life. She goes to school, helps out at her adoptive mothers' bakery, and has volleyball practice. But she has a secret that no one knows; she has a huge crush on her new classmate. Oh, and she's also a magical superhero sworn to protect her city, but seriously, just a normal girl.A Miraculous Ladybug AU, because c'mon how couldn't I?
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 167





	As luck would have it

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sadiewrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadiewrites/gifts).



> Gifting this one to sadiewrites too but it's ok! She actually wanted to read this one! I mean if she wants me to stop gifting her fics she should really stop enabling me.

Cat Noire catapults herself over the building, twirls while still in midair and lands expertly over the rail. She extends her arms and bends over in mock curtsy. 

Ladybug usually wouldn’t indulge her, but she’s feeling rather generous tonight so she gives her a cursory round of applause. She’s rewarded with a smirk. Cat doesn’t really need any encouragement to hand out those, but Ladybug guesses that they are rather charming, in their own way. 

“Nothing to report?” Ladybug asks when Cat doesn’t offer any information. 

Cat finds a perch to her right, and lays down on her back, supporting her weight with her elbows. “Nothing to report,” she parrots back. “It’s almost like these nightly patrols are a waste of time.” 

Ladybug scowls. “We need to be on the alert, Cat. There’s been eight akuma attacks in the last two weeks.” 

“So? If something did happen, I’m sure the screams and general chaos would wake me up anyway.” 

Ladybug rolls her eyes. “Yeah, sure thing, kitty.” 

“Have you ever heard of relaxing? It’s fun, you should try it sometime.” 

“Why would I need to try it when I already have you doing enough of it for the both of us.” 

“It’s the principle of the thing, She-Bug.” 

Ladybug represses the urge to protest at the ridiculous nickname, she knows it would only make it worse. Instead, she sidesteps it completely. “This is our responsibility, the people of this city are counting on us.” She notices Cat repeating her words under her breath. “Are you ever going to take this seriously?” 

“I don’t know, are you ever going to take _me_ seriously?” There’s an edge to Cat’s voice now that Ladybug doesn’t like. 

A scream pierces through the uncomfortable silence that settles over them, stopping her from replying. Ladybug has probably never been happier that there’s an akuma on the loose. 

“Looks like it’ll be an eventful night after all,” she says, letting smugness seep into her voice. 

Cat makes a show of groaning before getting up. “After you, my lady.” 

* * *

_I hate_ _Physics_ , Adora thinks as she struggles to keep her attention on the board. She knows it’s the tiredness speaking but still. When she looks at the infinite lists of formulas that cover her notebook, she really does hate Physics, at least a little bit. 

The akuma from the night before, while harmless, had been ridiculously hard to catch. It had taken her and Cat hours of chasing it for them to finally trap it, using a plan that involved ice cream and a very creative use of a harp. 

She needs a break. There had been an akuma attack almost every day for the last two weeks and exams were quickly approaching. And not to mention all the extra volleyball practice they were getting before the season started next month. 

Before she knows it, her gaze lands on the person sitting in front of her. Catra’s hair looks messier than usual this morning, and Adora finds herself following its twists and turns instead of paying attention to the lesson. 

“Earth to Adora,” Glimmer says, thrusting a hand in front of her line of vision. 

Adora jumps in place, almost falling off her chair. “Wha– What happened? Is there an attack? Are we evacuating?” 

Glimmer shakes her head. “Seriously Adora, where has your mind been lately? You didn’t even notice the bell ringing.” 

She groans and leans forward to rest her forehead against the desk. “I’m just so tired. Between school and practice and helping out at the bakery and–” 

“Ok, first? You know Mara is actually begging you to stop worrying about the bakery. And second, you should really tell Coach Weaver to take it easy with all those extra practices. You are training what? Four times a week? That’s ridiculous, she’s pushing you too hard.” 

This isn’t the first time Glimmer has voiced her opinions on Coach Weaver. If anything, this is really tame compared to the usual. 

“She only wants us to give it our best,” she says wearily. “Just drop it, ok? Arguing about it isn’t going to make my sleep schedule any better,” she sighs. 

Glimmer worries at her lip for a second, but lets the matter die. Because life is never fair to Adora, however, the topic she chooses next is even worse. Her eyes find Adora’s previous object of attention, and Adora braces herself. 

At least Glimmer has the decency to lean into her and lower her voice before she says, “or maybe, you were just too distracted thinking about someone else.” 

Adora lets out an indignant screech before she pushes Glimmer off her. She might have used a little more force than necessary because Glimmer has to grab the edge of the desk to stop herself from falling to the ground. But it’s ok, she won’t stop laughing, the traitor. 

“Shut up, what if she hears you?” Adora hisses at her. 

“What, you don’t want anyone to figure out you have a _crush_?” 

“I will kill you,” she threatens. 

Glimmer‘s laugh doesn’t die down until the math professor walks in. 

* * *

“You don’t need to come with me to practice, Glimmer, you know it can run pretty late.” 

Glimmer waves her concerns away. “Someone has to make sure you aren’t too exhausted to get yourself home. Plus, it’s a good way to get me started on that history reading. I've procrastinated it long enough.” 

“Are you only coming because you know it drives Coach Weaver crazy to have you there and not be able to kick you out?” Adora deadpans. 

“The woman is making you miserable, someone has to give her a taste of her own medicine!” 

“She’s not making me miserable,” Adora says, and believes it. Glimmer doesn’t look so convinced. 

She leaves Glimmer by the benches, surrounded by textbooks, and goes to meet with her team. 

Coach Weaver is running them through what she wants them to do today when Catra arrives, out of breath and hastily pulling her hair into a ponytail. It’s a bit embarrassing how Adora’s heart skips a beat at the sight. 

Of course, Coach stops what she’s saying to reprimand Catra, and Adora kind of wishes she would be brave enough to tell her to back off. Sure, Catra is sometimes late to practice but it’s never been more than five minutes or so, and Coach is always the hardest on her, no matter the reason. Catra takes it all without even a twitch of her expression, so Adora tries to ignore it too. 

"Hey Adora,” she hears later, when they are taking their positions on the court. It causes her to completely lose her focus on what she’s doing. It wouldn’t be so bad, except that the other team chooses that exact moment to throw the ball to their side, and it makes a perfect landing on Adora’s forehead. 

She lets out a yelp, hands quickly going up to cover her face. 

“Oh shit,” Catra says, “are you ok?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Adora replies, wanting to die of embarrassment. 

Catra isn’t too convinced, and steps forward to take a closer look. She grabs Adora’s hands, pulling them away. 

“Are you sure? You are looking very red. Don’t tell me you are concussed. Weaver is going to kill me.” 

Adora jerks away, almost tripping in the process, which doesn’t really help her case. “I’m fine!! Don’t worry, seriously.” 

Catra looks suspiciously at her, but cuts herself off when Coach Weaver approaches them. 

“What is going on here? Catra, leave Adora alone, you are distracting her.” 

Catra winces, and this time Adora can’t just watch and keep quiet. “It was my fault Coach; I wasn’t paying attention and I got hit.” 

Coach looks from her, to Catra, then back to her again. “Ok, but that’s enough. Get on position, there’s still a lot to do if you want to have a chance in this championship.” 

“Yes, Coach,” Adora says dutifully, trying to push Catra and her embarrassment out of her mind. 

She manages to get through the rest of the practice without any incidents, Catra-related or of any other kind. She’s about to meet with Glimmer when she hears someone call her name from behind her. 

It’s, of course, Catra, jogging slightly to catch up with her. “Are you sure you are ok?” she says when she’s close enough. 

“Yeah. I’m not going to pass out, it’s fine.” She hopes she’s not blushing again. Seriously, what’s wrong with her? Why can’t her body retain a normal color when being around Catra? 

“There's still a red spot on your forehead,” Catra says with a smirk. She pushes one finger on Adora’s face and ok, it does hurt a bit. “I don’t think you should walk home alone.” 

“Oh, no, I’m ok. I mean, it’s ok. I mean–” 

Glimmer, miraculously, mercifully, chooses that moment to appear. 

“Hey, Catra! Good game!” she says in a cheerful manner and with a cheerful smile. She’s teasing Adora, she’s always teasing Adora, and why did she think that it was a good thing for Glimmer to show up again? 

“Hi, Sparkles. Still refusing to be of use to the team?” 

“What are you talking about? I’m plenty useful to the team. I make sure this one,” she knocks her shoulder against Adora’s, “doesn’t work herself to the ground every day.” 

Catra’s smirk grows bigger, and a bit of teeth slips out. “Couldn’t have our star player do that. I was just offering to walk her home, since I’m not completely sure she didn’t concuss herself earlier. But if you are here...” 

“Oh no, you can take her. I have to meet up with Bow at the library anyway.” 

She pushes Adora forward, who, of course, loses her footing, and needs to be grabbed by Catra to stop her from actually hitting the ground. Catra doesn’t say anything as she helps Adora straighten herself, but she does giggle a bit as she does so. Adora would kill Glimmer right here and then if it weren’t for the fact that Catra’s giggle is the cutest sound she’s ever heard, and maybe embarrassing herself for the millionth time this day was actually kinda worth it for having heard it. Not that she’s ever admitting that to Glimmer. Ever. 

They part ways at the school entrance and Adora makes the mistake of looking back at Glimmer as she walks in the opposite direction. Glimmer, of course, is looking right at her and takes the opportunity to raise her eyebrows and make kissing gestures that are, frankly, quite terrible. 

She and Catra walk in silence, and Adora feels so warm, just existing quietly near her. Catra stops right before they approach the bakery’s door. 

“Hey, Adora?” she asks, and for the first time since she's known her, Adora hears the ghost of hesitation in her voice. “I wanted to ask you... you like me, right?” 

Forget warmth, Adora is burning up right now. Her face feels so hot, she’s probably going to pass out from all her blood rushing up. She’s going to pass out, hit her skull against the pavement and die, all because Catra, her crush, the most beautiful, funny, intelligent, lovely, gorgeous girl Adora has ever known just asked her if she liked her. 

“I mean, you always get so nervous around me, and I know I tease you a lot but I’m not mean, you know?” 

Adora didn’t think the moment she’d thank her inability to talk in front of her crush would actually come, but it had, and it was now. She doesn’t even want to think about the damage she might have done if she hadn’t heard the rest of Catra’s question before replying. 

“No!!!” she shrieks a little louder than necessary, judging by the way Catra’s eyes widen. “I mean, yes!! I like you!! Not in a– I mean– A friend. You are a friend. At least I consider you one? I just.” Adora stops herself, presses a hand against her eyes, and takes a deep breath. How could she even begin to explain the way her brain seems to freeze and crash around her? “Dumb. I’m just dumb,” she finishes lamely. 

Catra giggles. Has Adora already said it’s the cutest sound in the world? It bears repeating anyway. 

“You aren’t dumb. And of course, we’re friends! You just need to relax a little!” She gives Adora’s arm a playful shove, and Adora tries not to melt. 

She nods, determined expression in place. “I’ll try.” 

But Catra shakes her head. “See? Already worrying too much about it, that’s exactly what you shouldn’t do.” 

Adora blinks. “That’s confusing advice.” 

“Maybe I want to keep you a bit confused. It’s cute.” 

Catra winks, waves her goodbye, and turns on her heels, all in one swift motion. She starts walking away and Adora can’t do anything but stare at her back, astounded. Then, she rushes inside the bakery and quickly closes the door behind her, leaning against it. 

“Oh, hi dear!” Mara says from behind the counter. “Everything ok?” 

“She called me cute!” Adora half-yells. She’s so lucky there’re no costumers around. 

“Who?” Mara’s eyes open in amazement. “Catra?” 

Adora can only nod in confirmation, still not quite believing it herself. 

“Did you hear that, Hope?” Mara calls over her shoulder. “Catra told her she’s cute!” 

Hope appears on the doorway to the kitchen. She’s carrying a tray full of cookies. 

“That shows a considerable advancement in your relationship.” 

“It does, doesn’t it?” With that, she finally tears herself apart from the door and walks towards the counter. 

Mara moves aside to let her pass. “I take it your day went well, then?” 

“Yeah, a bit boring. I’m so tired,” she whines for the millionth time that day as she helps her put the cookies away. 

“You don’t have any other engagements today.” Hope chimes in from the kitchen. “Why don’t you take nap?” 

Adora makes a face. “Nah, it’s fine. I’ll rest for a while but I have to catch up with homework after that.” 

There’s worry on Mara’s face but Adora smiles at her and pretends she doesn’t see it. “Ok, but don’t forget to eat something. Tea’s waiting for you upstairs.” 

Adora’s smile grows more genuine. “Thanks guys.” 

She kisses Mara on the cheek then makes her way to the apartment above the bakery. She finds the kettle ready for her and a plate of her favorite granola cookies. She texts Glimmer as she waits for the water to boil. She knows Glimmer won’t be able to reply until a few hours later and Adora is a little relieved at that. Though the news she just shared are momentous, she doesn’t really feel like talking right now. A whole night of Ladybug action plus volleyball practice are a bit much, even for her. 

Once her tea is ready, she takes it all up to her room and sets it down on her desk. The door hasn’t finished closing behind her when another voice breaks the silence. 

“Oh my god, Adora.” 

“I know! Can you believe it?” 

She looks at her chair, then decides to pick up her cup and plate again and set them on the floor. She sits next to them, resting her back against the wall. 

“I couldn’t see her – because I was in your backpack – but she definitely sounded like she was flirting. Did she look like she was flirting?” 

Adora squeals and covers her face with her hands. “She wasn’t flirting, Swifty! She was just being nice!” Apparently blushing is not only a thing that happens when she's around her crush. 

Swift Wind flies closer to her face, staring like he could find the truth behind Catra’s intent hidden there. Adora blinks, the kwami of Creation looking like little more than a red blotch. Then he flies back, closer to the plate, and her eyes can focus on him again. Not like it’s much better. Swift Wind’s shape is always a little a little fuzzy around the edges, his magic too big to be contained in something as flimsy as a physical form. Adora holds up a cookie for him. He makes a face – granola is definitely not _his_ favorite – but he takes it. It’s almost bigger than he is. 

“That one has chocolate chips in it.” 

That appeases him a little, and Adora suppresses a giggle. It’s funny, sometimes, knowing that this magical being, who’s able of granting her superpowers, is little more than a sugar addict in a perpetual rush. He’s a great friend though, if a bit eccentric. 

“So? What are we going to do about it?” he says through a mouthful of granola. 

He’s also very energetic. Which is fine by Adora, she’s very energetic too. Just...not right now. She takes another sip of her tea, savoring it. 

“What do you mean?” 

“We have to come up with a plan! To make Catra fall head over heels for you! Should I get your highlighters?” 

She laughs. “Maybe tomorrow Swifty. Today I just want to take a nice, hot shower and then work on my homework.” 

“Ok. But this still calls for some loop-de-loops.” 

Adora watches as Swift Wind flies in progressively more intricate maneuvers, drinks her tea, and lets herself think about the twinkle in Catra’s eyes when she had teased her. 

* * *

She doesn’t get to take that shower. 

Or well, she kind of does, if you call getting interrupted in the middle of shampooing as taking a shower. After Swift Wind shouts her the news, Adora takes a second to decide if it’d be ok to wash away the product before leaving the bathroom. Then she gets angry at herself for wasting time pondering over it. She rinses her hair, dries herself as best as she can and quickly changes into the clothes she left on her bed. She might be on a rush, but there’s no way she’ll risk the transformation going away while she’s completely naked. 

“Swifty, spots on!” she yells, triggering the transformation. 

A beam of magic envelops her and, when it’s gone, she’s alone in her room, dressed in red and black. She touches her face out of habit, making sure the mask is in place. Of course, it is, it always is, but Ashe likes the comfort of knowing anyway. She runs to her balcony and uses her yo-yo to swing away, following the sound of chaos that usually follows the apparition of an akuma. 

Her instinct leads her to the center of the city where she finds...a cat? A giant cat. She already has a great feeling about this one. 

“Nice of you to drop in, She-Bug.” 

Cat’s standing on top of a building, metal staff on one hand, leather tail on the other. How she can look so relaxed in the middle of all this is still a mystery to Adora. She changes directions and lands next to Cat. She has chosen a good vantage point to look over the situation. 

Adora nods to the cat that’s currently swatting a giant paw against a traffic light. “Friend of yours?” 

Cat arches an eyebrow. “Har har. Is that where you were? Polishing up your stand-up routine?” 

Adora smiles despite herself. She hates that they have to meet under such circumstances, but she does enjoy Cat’s company. She so wishes they could be friends, regular friends. Friends that get ice cream together and who want to hear about the last conversation they had with their crush and who watch movies and who complain about homework. Just everyday teenage stuff. What they have is also precious though, probably even more so. Adora trusts Cat not only with her life, but with the lives of the whole population of Bright Moon. If Cat were to ask anything of her, Adora would say yes, without of second of hesitation. She knows that she’d have her reasons for it, she knows that it’d be worth it. She also owes it to her. Ladybug wouldn’t get to protect this city if Cat Noire wasn’t there to watch her back. 

“I’ve already helped evacuate these few blocks,” Cat says, vaguely signaling the perimeter with her staff. 

“We need to make sure we keep it contained. Cats are fast, it could destroy half the city if we are not careful.” 

“He.” 

“He?” 

Cat points to the cat. “He’s a him.” 

Adora looks at it. It’s at least twice as big as the buildings around it. It has white fur with orange patches and bright yellow eyes. Adora can spot red collar on its neck that matches its color perfectly. 

“How do you know?” Next to her, Cat shrugs one shoulder. “Wait do you understand him? Can you communicate with him?” 

“What? Don’t be ridiculous. I just _look_ like a cat, I’m not actually one, dumb face. The tag on his collar says his name is Frosting though.” 

Adora laughs, reaching forward to playfully touch Cat’s ears. They are black and sit on top of her hair, which is wild, curly, and loose. The ear moves under her fingers, but Adora still doesn’t know if they feel like real ears to Cat or not. She’s weirdly cagey about them. She knows that if it were anyone else touching them, Cat would have already ripped their arm out. They are close like that. It’s better than if she touched the bell that rests under her throat. Cat _really_ hates it when she does that. Which is why Adora feels obliged to mess with it as much as possible, of course. 

“The akuma must be hidden in the collar,” Cat says, and Adora immediately switches back into Ladybug mode. “I’ve been watching him for a while and there doesn’t seem to be any other place for it.” 

“I distract him, you go in for the collar?” 

Cat smiles her favorite smile, the one that’s all teeth and no doubts. “Thought you’d never ask.” 

With a last look, they both leap off the roof together. Adora goes left, and Cat goes right. Adora doesn’t even need to watch Cat’s path through the air, she knows exactly what it’ll look like. Even in the most frenetic of battles, she has a sixth sense for where Cat is and what she needs from Adora It’s similar to the way she feels on the volleyball court, always aware of when it’s better for her to step in, and when she should stay away and let her team handle it. But her connection to Cat runs even deeper. Adora would think there’s something magical about it, except that she’s sure there isn’t. That’s just how Cat and her are. Ladybug and Cat Noire might be chosen to be the best pair the world, but that wouldn’t be possible if Ladybug wasn’t Adora and Cat wasn’t...whoever she is under the mask. 

Adora aims high, makes sure to get right in the cat’s field of vision. “Hello there!” she calls, as loudly as she can. 

Frosting looks up, following Adora’s trajectory with his head. Adora gets ready to dodge, but the blow doesn’t come. Adora keeps swinging from one side of the street to the other, making sure she keeps Frosting’s attention on her. Suddenly, she sees it. Cat is little more than a black blur when she lunges for Frosting. She lets herself fall on top of his neck, her hand going straight for his collar. The material starts disintegrating under her touch, and Cat is already getting away before it finishes falling apart. Half a second later, Frosting brings up a paw to scratch at his scruff. Adora follows Cat, landing next to her and freeing her yo-yo to capture the akuma that’s corrupting the cat, but it never appears. 

“Looks like we were wrong,” she says. 

“You think so?” Cat says, rolling her eyes. 

Before Adora can reply with a biting remark of her own, the ring on Cat’s right hand gives a loud beep. They both frown like it’ll make it take the sound back. 

“I need to recharge,” Cat says, looking around, possibly for a place to hide. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right back.” 

Adora waves her concerns away. “It’s ok, I can deal with him. I’ll try to figure out where the akuma really is.” 

It looks like Cat wants to say more, but her ring gives her another warning and she leaves before her time runs out and she transforms back into herself. Adora turns around so she won’t even see her go, just to be careful, and finds that Frosting has taken advantage of their quick talk to start walking away. Despite the cat’s graceful movements, his massive size makes it impossible for him not to leave a path of destruction on his wake. Adora curses to herself and runs towards him, mentally calculating the easiest way towards a more open area. There’s a huge park just a few blocks south of where they are that should be part of the evacuated area. 

It takes her a couple of tries to get the cat’s attention again, but a quick succession of loud shouts finally does the trick. They might do it a little too well though, because this time Frosting doesn’t wait for whatever he had been waiting for the last time Adora had tried this, and instead immediately starts to chase her. Adora barely has time to change directions before he’s pouncing on her. She makes it to the next building, which is lucky, because the one she had been standing on turns into rubble under the cat’s paws. 

Adora shudders and reminds herself that there was no one inside. There couldn’t be. The people of Bright Moon are used to giant monsters trying to destroy the city and its evacuation protocols are faultless. Cat had personally assured her that these couple of blocks were completely empty. And even if they weren’t...even if they weren’t, her Lucky Charm would fix everything. It always did. It should be a comforting thought, but it doesn’t really do much for Adora. 

She doesn’t get to indulge in her uneasy thoughts though, because it’s taking everything in her not to get caught. She’s running as fast as she can, using her yo-yo whenever she has the chance, but Frosting still gets dangerously close to her on occasions. _Cat where are you;_ she thinks anxiously. Her arms are starting to ache, and so are her legs, and it’s getting harder and harder to focus on where she needs to land or leap to next. She’s not looking forward to getting to the park, where she won’t even have the option of yo-yoing away, but she can’t really keep the cat running loose around the city. 

Her eyes finally sight open space, and that’s when she makes a mistake. She bounces a little too quickly, a little too eagerly, realizes she’s put too much momentum into her swing, and knows she’ll have to calculate her next move very carefully. She doesn’t get a chance to, however, since it’s in that moment that Frosting’s paw reaches her. He bats at her while she’s midair, hitting her whole body with the force of a freight train. The air is knocked out of her lungs and she loses all sense of direction. She’s vaguely aware that she’s falling, but she can’t do anything to stop it. She closes her eyes, waiting to hit the pavement – maybe her suit will protect her from that too– but something catches her before that can happen. 

She’d think it’s Frosting again, and that she’s seconds away from becoming one tasty treat – cats eat ladybugs, right? –, but the grip on her is too gentle to come from anyone other than Cat. She tries opening her eyes, but the world is still too confusing to make sense of it, so she closes them again before her dizziness can get worse. Her arms are trapped in a position too awkward to try to hold Cat back, but she’s not worried, she would never let her fall. She realizes her head is cushioned against something soft, so she lies a bit more purposely against it, enjoying the warm sensation it gives her. 

By the time they stop moving, Adora is feeling well enough to open her eyes again. They are inside what looks like an office, and Cat is now carrying her with both hands, one under Adora’s back and the other one under her legs. Adora wiggles a little, sure that she can stand up on her own, but Cat doesn’t pay any attention to it. She settles her down on top of a desk, and quickly takes holds of Adora’s face, looking at her intently. Adora has half a mind to protest about the way she’s being handled, but then she sees the worried look on her partner’s face and it all evaporates in an instant. 

“I’m ok,” she says softly. 

Cat’s hands roam the rest of her body, from her shoulders to her fingertips, being especially delicate around her ribs, and finally coming to rest on Adora’s thighs. Every inch of skin aside from Adora’s face is covered, but the contact still makes her shiver. 

“Nothing’s broken?” 

Adora shakes her head. It hurts a bit, but not much. “I’ve taken worse, you know that.” 

Cat bites her lip, probably to stop herself from going on another tirade about how Adora needs to be more careful. She’s gotten that one enough times already. 

“I promise I’m ok,” she repeats. 

Cat’s frown only gets deeper. “Are you sure you are not concussed?” 

_Why do people keep asking me that_ _today?_ She’s not concussed. At least she doesn’t think so. 

She shakes her head again, and this time everything stays where it should be, so it makes Adora feel more confident about her answer. Cat’s eyes are so intense. They spark in blue and yellow, and Adora always wonders which color might be hiding under the glamour of her miraculous. Mirage heterochromia aside, the fire is all hers, Adora is sure. Cat puts her hands over Adora’s cheeks again and brings their foreheads together. Adora grabs her by the wrists and lets Cat close her eyes for a second, watching her take in a slow breath. 

“We need to go,” Adora says before much time can pass. 

Cat makes an annoyed sound and doesn’t open her eyes. Adora gently peels her away. 

“The city needs us, Cat.” 

There’s that frown again. Impulsively, Adora leans forward and kisses Cat’s forehead, hoping it’ll help keep her fears away. Cat blinks, and her eyes blow open. Adora hops down from the desk, her legs wobbling for a second before she gets them under control again. Luckily for her, Cat is still too distracted to notice. 

“We still don’t know where the akuma is hiding,” she reminds her. 

“Way ahead of you, my lady.” Now that sounds a bit more like the Cat she knows. “I noticed he avoided putting his whole weight on his back foot when he was chasing you. While I was carrying you here, I found out why, he has a splinter stuck there.” 

“Good job kitty!” she says appraisingly. “Left, or right?” 

“Left.” 

Adora thinks for a second. This is gonna be trickier than trying to snag his collar. Cat’s power of destruction is very powerful, and they can’t risk Frosting taking the blow by mistake. Cat has the ability to pull it off, but she could still use some help. Her hand goes to her waist, where her yo-yo usually is, but finds it empty. Right, she had been swinging from it when she got hit, it’s probably lying on the floor somewhere, hidden by the debris. Great. Adora sighs. 

She hears Cat clear her throat behind her. “Looking for something?” 

When she turns, Cat throws her yo-yo at her. Adora catches it, notices the way Cat’s eye follows her every moment. It was a test, but she passed it. 

She aims for the roof. “Lucky charm!” she yells. 

The room lights up in pink for a second and, when it goes away, an object takes its place. It falls directly into Adora’s hands, who’s grateful her reflexes aren’t getting tested again. She turns it in her hands, making sense of it. It’s red with black polka dots, like everything her special power produces, but, after a second, she realizes it is also shaped like a ladybug. It’s made out of fabric and it has a long, thin rope. 

Cat groans. “C’mon, what do we need a kite for? A bag of catnip and we would have been done in seconds.” 

“That’s not how it works,” Adora says, mostly because she feels like she should. She knows the Lucky Charm always gives her what she needs but, for once, she would have appreciated an easy answer. 

“I’m just saying,” Cat continues as they walk towards the window – it’s broken though Adora didn’t hear any glass shattering in their way here. “A giant laser would have been useful too.” 

“I don’t control the magic, Cat.” It’s a conversation they’ve had many times before. Adora knows Cat’s not really arguing with her, but with whoever decided this was a sensible way of handling things. “Ok so I’ll–” 

“ _You_ are staying on the sidelines while you figure out our plan. _I_ will be taking care of the rest.” 

Adora wants to argue, but Cat’s tone is stern. She wouldn’t put past her to stop her from going out there altogether, even if she had to use Adora’s own yo-yo to tie her up. Obediently, she nods, but the tension doesn’t draw from Cat’s form. She uses her staff to break the rest of the glass so there’s no danger of getting cuts anymore –though Adora is pretty sure simple glass isn’t enough to pierce through their suits–, then gets out. 

Adora gives her a few seconds, then follows her. True to her word, she goes up the highest perch she can find and stays there, safely away from the any claws. She surveys the view from her watchtower, willing her tired brain to come up with something. Down at the park, Cat is leading Frosting into a wild chase. It’s amazing to see, actually, Cat’s dexterity being in full display. She leaps and dodges, takes turns so sharp only another cat would be able to keep up with. She’s absentmindedly noticing the pattern their race is leaving on the ground when something else catches her attention. A mast stands in the middle of the park, untouched by chaos, its flag waving in the wind. Adora starts rushing towards it. 

Cat doesn’t show any signs of noticing that Adora has entered the park as well, but she suddenly starts keeping herself to the same path between the trees, so Adora can tell she’s trying not to alert Frosting of her presence. Adora knows firsthand how hard it is to keep up with the akumatized cat, so she pushes past her own exhaustion and races towards the flagpole. She climbs it, ties the kite’s string to the top, then uses her legs to hold on and extends her hands as wide as she can, kite still firmly on her left one. 

“Hey, over here!” she shouts, waving her arms in the air. 

Cat changes course, going straight towards her. Adora’s aware that she’s so much faster than Ladybug, but she had never really had the chance to see her run through an open space, no obstacles in her path. It truly is remarkable. Frosting follows her close behind, and now Adora can clearly see the issue with his left leg. The injury is probably the only reason both of them have managed to avoid him for so long. The floor trembles beneath the force of his steps, and Adora’s thighs burn from the effort of staying in place, but she keeps her arms out, calling loudly for the cat. 

She sees the second his eyes zero in on her, his pupils contracting. Adora waits until the last possible second, then releases her grip on the pole, letting go of the kite in the process. She has no guarantees that the cat will choose to follow it rather than her. She can’t even know that it will soar high in the air like instead of flopping to the ground. But Adora has Ladybug’s luck on her side, and it has never failed her yet, so she does it without a second thought. 

The kite goes up, the cat leaps to catch it, and Adora lands safely before hurrying to get out of the way. As she rolls away, Cat jumps over her, right hand crackling with destructive energy. She graces the splinter that’s sticking out of Frosting’s paw and it soon decomposes away. A black and purple butterfly emerges from its ashes, flying up to the sky. Adora is ready for it. She throws her yo–yo up, catching the butterfly. The yo-yo reels back in, lading on her hands, where she opens it. The now white butterfly – free of all negative energy –, takes flying again and, this time, Adora lets it. 

“Bye bye, little butterfly,” she murmurs. 

Cat comes to stand next to her, and they watch together as a cloud of purple smoke envelopes Frosting, who’s still occupied with taking apart the ladybug kite. When it clears, it reveals a normal-sized cat, now tangled up in a much-bigger-than-him kite. They approach him together. Cat bends down to carefully prick him away from the fabric while Adora gets the remains of the toy. It’s a good thing the power still works with broken objects. 

“Miraculous Ladybug!” she yells, casting it into the air. 

Half of her expects it to flop back down due to its weird shape, but, of course, it doesn’t. The object disappears in a flash of light, and a million ladybugs take its place. They cover the city in a whirlwind of red and black and, before Adora has even had time to blink, suddenly they are gone, and everything that had been destroyed by the akuma is now back in its place. 

Cat offers her hand for their usual fistbump, but she’s lacking her usual post-victory fervor. 

She looks at her more closely, but Cat is busy petting the cat in her hands. He has started purring, and is unashamedly rubbing himself against Cat’s chest. Adora presents him with her own hand. Frosting sniffs at it, and then shows her the underside of his chin, a silent blessing. Adora scratches him there, and then behind his ears. 

Their peace is broken by the loud noise coming from Cat’s ring. It’s quickly followed by a similar sound, this time from Adora’s earrings. Still, Cat doesn’t move. 

“What do you think they’re playing at?” 

Adora doesn’t need to ask to know who she means, but she does it anyway. “Hawkmoth?” 

“There’s never been these many attacks so close to each other. Something has changed.” 

“Who knows if they’ll be able to keep it up, though. This one,” she says, petting Frosting’s between the ears, “wasn’t even particularly hard to deal with. Ok, ok,” she backtracks, noticing Cat’s glare “he was, but you know what I mean. He didn’t do much in the ‘steal our miraculouses’ department.” 

“They might be just trying to tire us out. Make us an easy target.” 

Again, she doesn’t need to say it for Adora to know that she thinks it’s already working. 

“We’ll just have to work harder, be more careful.” 

Cat purses her lips. 

“Don’t you think maybe they’re just having trouble finding new sources of negative energy? Maybe that’s how this little guy got akumatized. There was no one else volunteering for the job.” 

Cat cocks her head, thinking it over. “Maybe.” She looks down at her ring. “Gotta go, we only have two minutes left.” But she doesn’t leave. “Are you sure you can get back ok?” 

Adora rolls her eyes. “I’m sure. You worry too much.” 

“Pretty sure that’s the opposite of what you always say,” Cat shoots back. “Don’t worry about him, I’ll make sure he returns home safely.” She bends down at the waist, ignoring the protest of the cat on her arms. “My lady,” she says, then starts running away. 

Adora watches her go until the ringing in her ears reminds her that she only has one minute to get out of sight before her transformation falls away. Then she remembers that she left her room in a hurry and didn’t think of carrying any cookies for Swifty, which means that he won’t be able to transform her back until he has had a good nap, which means that she’ll have to walk all the way home. And then, because her day hasn’t been long enough, she’ll have to find a way to sneak back inside without Mara or Hope noticing that she’s been gone in the first place. And it’s only Monday. 

**Author's Note:**

> A note on the setting: we are all used to the us school system in fics, she ra is set on a different planet, ladybug is a french show, and I'm from america latina. So, if something about this fic makes you go "...wait that's not how schools work", don't worry I have a permit, it says: I do what I want.
> 
> I probably spent more time trying to figure out how to mix and match these two universes than what it took to write the actual chapter lol So if you have any notes on anything, I'll be happy to read them! (as long as ya know, you aren't a jerk about it bc I'm a person, not a piñata that you have to punch to get better words out of lol) Here's my [tumblr](http://thebravething.tumblr.com) in case you want to talk about this fic, delicately yell at me to update my other wip, help me decide which one-shot I should work on next (your options are: a medieval/fairy tale catradora au, a fic where everyone takes turns looking after spinnetossas' kid, or the one where everyone gets drunk and talks shit about shadow weaver), or just yell about spop in general.


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